Letters

Not Yet

As a resident of Celebration, a teacher, and a parent of children at
Celebration School since its inaugural year, I was appalled by the
excerpt from the Catherine Collins and Douglas Frantz book,
Celebration, U.S.A.: Living in Disney's Brave New Town ["Nothing To Celebrate,"
October]. True education reform is an arduous, challenging process, a
journey that we at Celebration have chosen to make knowing that the
future is at stake. Our successes are joyous; our "not yets" (verbiage
from our rubric) are frustrating. However, with our focus on the best
practices in education, we have a compass that guides us through this
journey.

In the past, TeacherMagazine has featured articles
espousing the very practices that Celebration embodies. Often, those
articles have served as encouragement and support for us. Yet this
time, what could have been a wonderful opportunity to feature education
reform in a world focused on test scores became nothing more than a
sensationalistic headline.

Jackie Flanigan
Celebration, Florida

No Respect

I certainly hope the Fresno subs get what they're after ["Substitutes Unite," October].
Working as a substitute teacher for a year and a half made me
determined to get a full-time position. The low pay for substitutes was
a problem, of course, but the lack of respect was much harder to deal
with.

My fellow subs and I have had principals and full-time teachers
challenge our reports about incidents ("Well, Bobby may be aggressive,
but you must have done something first"); shuttle us from room to
room--as many as seven classrooms in a day--with no chance to have
lunch or take a break; and fail to provide directions to the adult
restrooms.

When I got a full-time position, I promised myself that I would
always treat substitutes with respect. In addition to providing lesson
plans and a daily schedule, I thank them for coming, leave them a
snack, make sure they know the names of the teachers in surrounding
rooms, and give directions to the faculty bathrooms and staff room.
Furthermore, students who misbehave for a substitute have to write a
note, which we mail, apologizing for their misbehavior. (I've never had
a student have to write more than one.)

Substitute teachers deserve much more than they get. I know, because
I've been there. The money is important, but the respect is invaluable.
Go, Fresno subs!

Name withheld upon requestAlgonac, Michigan

Northern Exposure

One issue that does not seem to be addressed in discussions of
teacher and administrator short ages is the role of immigration
["Viva Las Vegas" and
"The Golden Years,"
October]. As a Canadian principal who holds California administrative
and teaching credentials, I am surprised that no one has tried to make
it as easy for Canadian teachers to work in the United States as it is
for Canadian doctors, nurses, and other medical staff. Everyone seems
to be missing an opportunity. I've tried the rounds, but the famous
American enterprise system seems to fail in this area.

Sidney RodnunskyChilanko Forks, British Columbia

Abstain

I take offense at the tone of "Sex 101" ["Clippings," October]. I do not
believe that teaching abstinence-only sex education is necessarily bad.
Do we really need to teach students how to masturbate? Does family
planning double for abortion? The traditional abstinence-only sex
education offered to our parents must have worked reasonably well:
We've only had an explosion of sexually transmitted diseases and
teenage pregnancies since the "sexual revolution" of the '60s and
'70s.

Perhaps we want to have our cake and eat it, too. As adults who grew
up during the sexual revolution, we want to have the freedom to do what
we want, such as have multiple sexual partners or multiple marriages.
To teach abstinence, therefore, would be hypocritical.

I also don't believe that Ms. magazine is the best periodical
for your magazine to be using as a source.

Ted Neely
Hickory, North Carolina

Instrucción Directa

Your article that focused on the Direct Instruction program
["Scripting Success,"
October] brought to mind the way school is taught in Mexico. There is a
single national curriculum and an accompanying teaching methodology.
There are teachers within the public education system whose sole job is
to travel and instruct other teachers in using that method. Though
public education in Mexico terminates after the 6th grade for all but
the best and brightest, it would be interesting to test the
effectiveness of its system.

Larry LarsonRocky Ford, Colorado

The Key To Reform

I am amazed that Teacher gave absolutely no recognition to
homeschooling in its 10th anniversary issue [August/September]. Homeschooling is truly an
education phenomenon that came of age during the '90s. All 50 states
now recognize its legitimacy, and it is an education option for well
over a million students. Clearly, homeschooling is not a fad; it has
become a bona fide school alternative for hundreds of thousands of
American families.

Though schools struggle to improve in a host of areas-parent
involvement, year-round schooling, individualized curriculum,
alternative assessment, technology use-homeschoolers are already
dealing with these challenges. Of course, home schooling will never be
adopted by the majority, but educators should not dismiss its
effectiveness out of hand. Rather, they should raise the question of
how homeschooling's best practices could be incorporated into the
mainstream.

Your omission reminds me of the story of a man who is searching for
his lost keys under a street lamp. When a friend asks where he last had
his keys, he points to a darkened alley. But he explains that it is too
dark to find them over there; the light is better here. By defining
education in terms of schools and failing to consider homeschooling,
you stayed in familiar "lighted" territory. In doing so, you missed
finding the real keys to improved education.

Mandate To Whine

I just tried to read "Chicago
Blues" and "Two-Step
Reform" [August/September], but I could not get through all the
whining. The articles criticize holding kids back, but something is
wrong with our education system when we graduate seniors who, at best,
read at a 3rd grade level. In my state, we are increasingly getting
accountability mandates from the legislature, yet the district I teach
in doesn't hold back many students. Accountability mandates only come
when administrators and teachers refuse to do their jobs--which is to
help children learn.

You should try to balance the whining rhetoric with some focus on
our own shortcomings in education. The longer we deny there's a
problem, the more someone else is going to tell us how to do our
jobs.

Jim Bynum
Las Vegas

Stop And Go

Ron Wolk asks who will step forward to reform schools, implying that
it should be teachers ["Who Will
Lead?," August/September]. But it is difficult enough to be a
leader when you are in a position to lead, never mind when you are at
the bottom of the funding and support pyramid. Next time, ask the
communities who shout "no more taxes" to step forward to reform
schools. Ask the boards of education who forget that they are there to
provide leadership and support to the people in the trenches. Or ask
the administrators who only aspire to conform to budget restraints set
by policymakers.

When you have asked them all to step forward, then you will see a
difference. Teachers are just waiting for a green light that won't turn
red when they are halfway through the reform intersection.

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